


Just Your Average Joe

by SheerIridescence



Category: Megalo Box (Anime)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 04:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17573966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheerIridescence/pseuds/SheerIridescence





	Just Your Average Joe

The Megalonia tournament really got you hyped up. You absolutely loved watching the sport, and even more so loved the underdog working his way up in the ranks: ‘Gearless Joe’. You had become somewhat of a fan from the start, and looked forward to every match he was in. You’d for sure have tickets to his final match that would place him first, because to you, it was obvious that he would make it that far with his skill. You just knew it. But for now, he had other matches to worry about, and you looked forward to them excitedly.

Fantasizing about seeing his next match, you went on your daily walking route with a smile on your face. You tried to keep a healthy lifestyle after all, since you looked up to boxers. As you walked on, you strayed a little from your usual path, not intending to but hoping something interesting would happen nonetheless, and something interesting happened indeed. As you neared a bridge around a more rundown part of town, you head sounds coming from underneath the said bridge. It sounded like fighting, which was concerning considering the amount of inactivity in this area. Even so, you were curious and started quietly down the side of the hill next to the bridge, wanting to find out what the commotion could be about.

Once fully under the bridge, to your surprise. Two men were boxing in a makeshift ring and doing so quite professionally too. Stepping closer to make out the fighting figures, you almost dropped from the shock of realization. It was none other than your idol Gearless Joe having at his coach, training up for his next match. A huge grin spread across your face as you stepped closer, wanting to watch more as your heart palpitated with excitement. Now you were within his viewing range, and after a few minutes of watching him train, Joe finally noticed your presence. His expression seemed confused, wondering why anyone would be interested in watching him train. Then, while he was distracted by your presence, his coach came up and thwacked him across the head, making Joe stumble back in surprise while your cheeks puffed up, you chocking back a spurt of laughter as you left the scene giggling. This was most interesting indeed. It seemed to be his regular training spot, and you had a feeling that you’d be returning to watch him train some more some time soon.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For about a week, you did exactly as you felt, and began to regularly attend Joe’s training sessions as a spectator. It was both a treat and an experience to watch a boxer prepare for impending fights. Each time you visited he noticed you and would momentarily pause, smirking at your constant reappearances now, and each time he did he’d get whacked over the head, in the shin, or smack in the gut for diverting his attention. You’d giggle every time too, his coach not minding your presence as it usually meant at least one free hit on Joe.

Soon after your regular appearances, he’d start looking out for you, making sure to only note your presence and stay focused on his training. He was indeed getting better at that now, so you decided that you’d show up earlier next time to throw him off. You quite enjoyed these subtle interactions with your favourite boxer and would like it to continue on at least a little longer.

Doing exactly that you showed up under the bridge earlier in the morning the next day, but you of course weren’t privy to how his schedule was built. Instead of training, he was cooling off after a run alone, no one else in sight. This gave him an opportunity to confront you, which you weren’t exactly ready for a face-to-face interaction just yet. Looks like it would be happening anyway though.

“Hey you!” He called out, standing up and throwing a towel over his shoulder. He started walking towards you and you choked, wishing you could back out of your intended shenanigans so badly. “You’re that girl that keeps getting my coach to knock me on my ass, aren’t you?”

“Oof, uh, yep, that sounds like me!” You answered sheepishly, trying your damndest to look innocent.

“Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good audience, but not when it’s a surprise every time and allows my coach a shot at me.” He chuckled. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“Ah well, to put it simply, I’m just a fan. I’ve always been interested in your fighting style, even before you went gearless. I stumbled across your training here on one of my walks, and kinda watched you from there.” You explained, seeing no reason to lie. “I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting to meet you face-to-face yet, so sorry if I’m a little jittery.”

“Jeez, you sound like my biggest fan.” He said, almost a little embarrassed that he had a fan.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” You nodded with a chuckle.

“Strange.” He hummed. “I’ve never been big or had fans before. That may be because of underground boxing, but for real, there’s so many other more appealing boxers out there. I’m really just your average Joe. What makes me so interesting?” He asked, raising a brow.

“Ah, well… You uh… I think… think that you…” You stammered, your brain having several internal errors and failing you in the creation of coherent sentences.

Joe couldn’t help but laugh, putting a halt to your stammering. “Tell you what, how about you come meet me in a couple of days after my next match, and you tell me what’s so interesting about me over dinner. How does that sound?”

Your face couldn’t help but turn red. Did your all-time favourite boxer just ask you to dinner?! You wished you could hyperventilate right now but you didn’t want to ruin your image.

“S-sure! That works, yeah!” You answered, still in disbelief.

“Judging by your reaction, you still think quite highly of me. This will be interesting to hear. “He huffed. “By the way, I never got your name.”

“It’s _______.” You replied with a little more clarity.

“_______ huh? Great name. Mine’s Joe, as you know.” He nodded. “See you in a couple of days then.”

“Of course! See you.” You replied, waving as Joe walked off to begin some more training for the day.

You sighed, and turned to leave yourself, walking home while internally screaming. You were gonna have to think about how to explain what was so interesting about him. This would be one wild dinner date.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And so you waited, still showing up to watch him train from afar until the day of his match. When that day came, you watched from your TV at home as you were saving up to watch the bigger fights. After seeing his victory, you of course cheered and then immediately ran out of your door towards the stadium. He did say after his match after all and booked it down the road towards the stadium. You didn’t live far from it, but you just felt the need to run.

Once you were there, you waited outside the building’s main entrance for Joe. It was the last match of the evening, so people were already starting to leave and file out of the doors with looks of either glee or disappointment. Previous fighters that lingered to watch were leaving as well, and eventually Joe himself came through the doors, covered in new bruises from his recent match. He spotted you first and approached you through the crowd.

“Yo, you actually came. I thought for sure you’d change your mind.” He greeted, surprising you.

“Oh! God no I wouldn’t change my mind. Why would I?” You asked.

“Well, that’s what you’re going to tell me over dinner, right?” He grinned.

“Right. I remember.” You laughed sheepishly. “So, what place did you have in mind?”

“Nowhere special. Just a diner down the road.” He answered. “I can’t imagine either of our budgets can be too high at the moment.”

“Yeah. That’s perfect then.” You agreed.

“So, shall we?” He said, gesturing to go.

You nodded in agreement, letting him lead the way out of the crowd of people. In and among the crowd, his coach and that kid that’s always with him stood back and watched, goofy little smirks on their faces.

Soon enough, you and Joe had made it to the diner he was speaking of. It was nothing fancy of course, but the purpose was the conversation, not the quality of the food. Sitting down, you both ordered something simple and cheap, Joe looking at you intently after the waitress left.

“So, tell me what’s so interesting about me.” He finally said, making the obvious known.

“Ah, so soon? Maybe… Give me more time to think?” You asked innocently. 

“Nope. You had a few days. I need to know now.” He insisted.

You sighed, pausing nervously. You were out to dinner with your favourite boxer, and he was cute as hell too. You were lucky to even be in this situation, so you gathered as much of your willpower as possible, told your pounding heart to shut the hell up, and answer this question.

“Well… You’re unique. You have a certain kind of skill no other fighter has, and you put it to excellent use. I love it when a guy has both brains and brawn balanced perfectly, and really, you’re just… I mean… A lot more aesthetically pleasing and well formed than any of the other fighters.” You finally said, avoiding saying ‘you look cute’ as best you could.

Joe had nothing to say at first. He stared at you with a sort of stunned expression, and only snapped out of it when the waitress put your food down in front of you.

“… Really. Thank you for telling me.” He finally said quietly, digging into his food.

“Yeah… No problem.” You replied just as quietly, starting on your own food as well.

As you ate in silence, you thought about what you had said. You felt good. A lot better now in fact, since you had said such things to him. You smiled a little and continued eating until both of you were done and had paid your bills for the meal. After you both stood up and left, just as you were about to say your goodbye, Joe spoke up.

“Hey. Would you want to go for a ride with me? On my motor bike of course, that is.” He asked, looking forward but watching you for an answer with the occasional glance.

“A ride? Uh, yeah, sure.” You answered, surprised but delighted to spend some more time with him.

“Great.” He said with relief. “Let’s go then.”

Joe lead you back to the stadium and brought you to where his boke was parked, having driven there before his match. He got on and kicked it into gear, taking it out of park and making its engine purr.

“Hop on.” He said simply and coolly, gesturing behind him for you to sit.

“Right.” You nodded, climbing on behind him. You wrapped your arms around his middle for support as he revved the engine a couple times before accelerating and flying out of the parking lot onto the road, leaving nothing behind him but dust.

You clung tight as the wind whipped your hair around, the road disappearing and slowly transitioning to nothing but dirt and hard rock. He had driven out to the cliffs: a place you liked but never had the time to visit as often as you wished. By now the sun was setting, tinting everything orange and pink as you rode. For a place so desolate, you didn’t mind it at all despite being in the middle of nowhere, city buildings now a blur on the horizon. Soon, Joe slowed his speed and came to a stop near the edge of a cliff that overlooked the sunset, waters lapping at the rocks below. He shut off the engine as you released your grip on him, allowing him to get off and stretch while he put the kickstand out.

The two of you stared into the sunset for a while, him standing and you still seated on his bike, watching the colours of the sky mix and blend. That moment went on for a while, until you decided to break the silence.

“So, what did you think of my answer?” You spoke up, catching him a little off guard. You wanted to know what he thought, and built up a little confidence, prepared to reinforce what you said at dinner.

Joe turned around to face you, staring for a moment before sighing a little and responding.

“It… Surprised me. Honestly, I can’t believe anyone would even think that about me.” He scoffed.

“How come?”

“I don’t wanna argue but, I really don’t think I’m that great. I’m plain. I don’t know how you see all of what you described in me; a man who was once nameless too. I really am just-!”

“Your average joe.” You interrupted, finding a but more confidence in yourself, contrasting with his sudden lack of cockiness. “Well then, just Joe, I’d like you to know that I like you very much, and nothing you say can change my mind.”

He paused, showing signs of having a lot of doubt in your words. “Are you just saying that because I started making a lot of money or something? There’s no way someone who met me a few weeks ago really thinks that about me.”

“Christ no!” You replied, quite shocked. “I’m saying it because… I like you. To me, it feels like I’ve known you forever since I began following you and your fighting journey. It may not feel like that for you, but trust me when I say that I genuinely like you.”

“… Prove it.”

You had top think for a moment, his simple words almost going over your head. You scoffed, and then allowed a smirk to come across your face. “I will.”

Taking on his challenge you pushed yourself off his boke and approached him, grabbing the collar of his jacket and pulling him close to you to allow yourself to kiss him. Blush flared up wildly on both of you, but you stood your ground and caressed his lips with yours in a passionate kiss to prove it. It only lasted a few moments, but you were sure you made your point, and let go, backing up and maintaining your smirk.

“… Wow…” Was all he could say for the longest time, touching his lips momentarily. His face was incredibly red now, nearly matching the edges of his recent bruising. “That’s ah, proof enough I think.”

“So, will you believe me when I say what I say? And maybe, also have me?” You asked.

He nodded, still quite amazed. Silently, he drew you back in and hugged you gently, almost content with your words now.

 

“Great.” You grinned. “Now win the rest of those matches, Joe. You’re more than average. You’re something special, and I’ll always support you.”


End file.
